Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister

Zoltán KOVÁCS

Government spokesperson

Government spokesperson

Brussels is making attempts to silence anti-immigration views

December 12, 2018 3:02 PM

On Wednesday in Brussels Minister of State for International Communications and Relations Zoltán Kovács said Brussels is making attempts to silence anti-immigration views.

The mobile hoarding installed onto a van which came from Hungary to Brussels – featuring the image of Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the EP, with the caption in English “Hundreds have died in terrorist attacks since 2015... but Guy Verhofstadt says ’We don’t have a migration crisis’. This is insane” – was present at the venue of Mr Kovács’s press conference held outside the headquarters of the European Parliament (EP).

Mr Kovács reported citing “reliable sources” that while the European liberals did not ask for and did not receive permission for driving around Brussels a similar hoarding displaying a message intended for the Hungarian government, the local authorities stopped the Hungarian van earlier and had the hoarding removed. In his view, this is a perfect example of double standards and the attempts which are aimed at silencing anti-immigration views.

The van sent by the Hungarian government will be driven around the streets of the Belgian capital until Friday.

The Minister of State later held a background discussion with Brussels journalists where he also spoke about the adoption of the UN’s migration compact. He said, stating his view, that the world organisation is making the same mistakes that the European Union has made in the past three years.

He added that we are experiencing a migration crisis, rather than a refugee crisis, but Hungary has made its proposals for the management of the situation. “The Hungarian position which was also confirmed by this year’s elections is clear.”

He stressed that every year the Hungarian authorities grant refugee status to hundreds of people who are genuinely eligible for asylum because they are indeed exposed to the threat of persecution for political or religious reasons. However, the vast majority of migrants coming to the continent are economic immigrants.

In answer to a question regarding the EU’s economic sanctions against Russia, Mr Kovács said the Hungarian economy has sustained major losses due to Russia’s counter-sanctions. The government believes these restrictions are not appropriate for managing the problems related to Russia, but will not break the EU’s unity.